Blogs

Discover stories, insights, and technical know-how from barn owners, preservationists, and OBP experts dedicated to keeping Ontario’s barns standing tall.

All things Ontario Barns

Barn Frame Anatomy

This short video illustrates the key components in a classic timber frame barn! By Krista Hulshof Duynisveld Please click on the “Watch on Loom” button if you wish to view on a full screen...

Setting up the OBP Barn Survey Project

Two months ago, the only time I thought of barns was when I’d drive by them on the way out of the city. In passing a handful of barns on unpaved backcountry roads, I only ever thought of them as a...

Vernon Bailey’s recital of Charlie Smith’s poem “The Barn”

Thank you to Vernon Bailey and Charlie Smith for their wonderfuly contribution of this stirring ode to, of all things, barns! The Orator: Vernon Bailey grew up on a small dairy farm on the north...

A Farmer’s Tasks in Winters Past: Some Reflections and Advice: Part 5 of 5

Conclusion: A Canadian winter was described by and used by authors for various reasons. Joseph Neilson wrote in his 1837 award winning essay, Observations Upon Emigration to Upper Canada, a very...

A Farmer’s Tasks in Winters Past: Some Reflections and Advice: Part 4 of 5

Winter Travel: In Emigration, an 1834 volume of letters from emigrants now settled in Upper Canada, one observer recorded that in the 1830s, during good weather, travel was common; “At these time...

Agricultural Urbanism: Linking sustainability, food production and rural heritage protection

As an practicing urban planner, farmer and an entrepreneur, much of my work triangulates around the intersection of heritage, urban planning and food security, Over the past 13 years I have...

A Farmer’s Tasks in Winters Past: Some Reflections and Advice: Part 3 of 5

Winter Works: Did the climate have an effect upon the type of work done, how was it recorded, and did any re-occurring patterns emerge? From his Williamstown farm, former explorer, cartographer...

A Farmer’s Tasks in Winters Past: Some Reflections and Advice: Part 2 of 5

by John C. Carter Daily Pursuits: Todmorden Mills, U.C. brewer and farmer William Helliwell, mixed his tasks with his chosen avocations. Some of his diary entries for December 1830 reflect this;...

A Farmer’s Tasks in Winters Past: Some Reflections and Advice: Part 1 of 5

by John C. Carter Introduction: Winter may be considered by many as the least palatable season of the year. With its onset, we often hear “winter whinging,” and experience a period of hibernation...

Preserving Old Ontario Barns in the On-Line World: Part 5 of 5, Creating a secure, centralized and sustainable database

This blog appears throughout November and December 2020 with the following topics that build upon each other. They explore some reasons why barn databases may have failed in the past, how OBP is...

Preserving Old Ontario Barns in the On-Line World: Part 4 of 5, Creating an Informative Database

by Hugh Fraser This blog appears throughout November and December 2020 with the following topics that build upon each other. They explore some reasons why barn databases may have failed in the past...